Category Archives: Kickstarter

Alverne Bell is a rising talent in comics, graphic novels, and prose fiction. He has proven himself many times over with such work as ONE NATION and VIRGIN WOLF. Now is a great opportunity to dive into the highly creative mind of Alverne Bell and experience a collection of his werewolf series, VIRGIN WOLF. A Kickstarter campaign is going on now, by July 15th, in support of collecting the first eight issues into trade paperback, hardcover, and PDF. To learn more, and join the campaign, go right here.

Don’t mess with Virgin!

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A young woman and her Native American mentor are hunting the father of all werewolves in 1605 France!

Virgin Wolf is the tale of a woman struggling to put an end to her nightmares. With the help of Hania, her Native American guide. She has tracked her prey to France. Though little does she know the extent they have gone to or will go to see the world dominated by the Wolfen.

This book is the collection of the first 8 issues, plus a rarely seen in print prologue. The book totals 208 pages in full-color. Printed on a sturdy glossy paper it is available in both soft and hard bound.

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Page from VIRGIN WOLF

This is a werewolf tale like you’ve never read before. Among the wide array of comics that I look over on a daily basis, this one definitely has gotten my attention. The title, VIRGIN WOLF, sticks in my mind, and it does not matter whether or not there is any tangible connection in this comic to Virginia Woolf. Alverne Ball is an award-winning writer who has built an impressive career. He knows how to tell stories. He holds an MFA in Fiction Writing from Columbia College in Chicago, which includes a Semester in Los Angeles, an intensive program focusing on adaptation of material to the screen. His writing runs the gamut from television and film to graphic novels and prose fiction. For VIRGIN WOLF, he has teamed up with Douglas Felix and Adriana de los Santos who both provide the artwork that makes this project a pleasure to read.

Cover from VIRGIN WOLF series

The collected VIRGIN WOLF will be published by Phoenix Dreams Publishing. Founded by Noel Burns, Phoenix Dreams Publishing is an indie comic publisher based out of Iowa. As an indie comic publisher, Phoenix Dreams Publishing hopes to help indie artists make a living through their creations and dreams.

Be sure to visit the VIRGIN WOLF Kickstarter campaign, on thru June 15th, right here.

The story begins in New York City…one hour into the future. Crime runs rampant, rogue cops patrol the rubble-strewn streets, predatory gangs steal anything that isn’t nailed down, and the once powerful mafia dons cower in fear in their tenement prisons. Someone is killing the mob chieftains one by one, and the last survivors call on Alonzo, The Family Man, to hunt down the murderer. But it won’t be easy – not when Alonzo’s own brother Charles, the gun-toting Monsignor of the corruption-ridden New York City police department, is a prime suspect.

Full page of original art by Joe Staton

Jerome Charyn (The Magician’s Wife) is one of my favorite writers. He is a one-of-a-kind visionary. Charyn has worked with some of the best cartoonists in the world and his work with Joe Staton (Dick Tracy) is no exception. Take a look at the examples in this post and it will give you a taste of the hard-boiled, multi-layered tale that is FAMILY MAN. A Kickstarter campaign is on now thru May 21st in support of releasing, for the first time, a collected graphic novel of this classic work. Visit it right here.

Jerome Charyn & Joe Staton

This is a project that Mr. Charyn and Mr. Staton worked on in 1994, during the heyday of Paradox Press, an imprint of DC Comics. Take a closer look at the artwork and marvel over the distinctive shading made possible with the Craft Tint duotone process. These special bristol boards were coated with shading underneath the surface. The artist exposed the shading as needed. Back in 1994, FAMILY MAN ended up as a three-part comic book series of 96-pages each. Thanks to IT’S ALIVE! Press, this stunning work of comics can now be given the best possible presentation as a graphic novel. That includes displaying each page as it originally appeared on the art board

Close-up view of Joe Staton artwork

I really can’t say enough about the remarkable talent of novelist Jerome Charyn. We will pursue that further in subsequent posts. What I’ll say now is that he was way ahead of his time, at least in American circles, by taking his literary skills to the comics medium. In Europe, for example, that has been well understood for decades. In America, we’ve had time to catch up. If you read a Charyn work in comics, you are treated to a vast world of intrigue with characters that will get under your skin. For FAMILY MAN, Charyn and Staton serve up a nice pulpy noir tale set in New York City “one hour into the future.” It is a story about two brothers on separate sides of the law caught in a dystopia they understand all too well and which will pit them in a bloody conflict.

It’s not too late to join in and reserve your copy of FAMILY MAN. This is a wonderful opportunity to own a shining example of comics at its best. Check out the Kickstarter and learn more about rewards, including original art by Joe Staton, right here.

I just reviewed a work by fellow cartoonist Dan Dougherty. And I feel a separate post is in order to let folks know about Dan’s band, On The Off Chance. I have heard their music and this feisty band out of Chicago is a lot of fun! Check out some samples for yourself at the band’s Kickstarter, going on through March 23rd, right here.

I am listening to “Payday” as I write this and its rockabilly vibe has put me in a very good mood. This is a band definitely on the rise. Later this year, with a little help from their friends, they will be releasing some very cool music videos that include the talents of Joel Murray (Mad Men), Jim O’Heir (Parks and Recreation) and David Pasquesi (Veep)!

On The Off Chance

A note from the band:

And as to the album itself? It’s the best thing we’ve ever made in all of our years as musicians. It’s eleven original songs written by either Dan or Steve, with beautiful harmonies, powerful lyrics, and hooks to spare.

The album is already recorded, mixed and mastered at the band’s own expense. The album art is complete and ready to print. The campaign funds go towards printing and shipping this special vinyl edition. As you will see among the reward options, you can choose whatever fits best your musics needs: CD, digital download, or vinyl, plus some other goodies.

As of today, Dan’s Kickstarter for the debut album of his band, On The Off Chance, has surpassed the $2,000 milestone of its $3,500 goal! This campaign ends on March 23rd. You can support the campaign by visiting right here.

Writer Andre Frattino and illustrator Jesse Lee have a very compelling graphic novel project, SIMON SAYS: NAZI HUNTER, the story of famed Nazi hunter and writer Simon Wiesenthal. Frattino and Lee seem to have a good handle on the subject. They have the background to tackle such an ambitious project. And, based upon their samples, it looks like it will add up to a riveting narrative. This is inspired by the true story of Holocaust survivor, Simeon Wiesenthal, an artist who lost his family and took justice into his own hands.

SIMON SAYS by artist Jesse Lee and writer Andre Frattino

From the Kickstarter campaign:

Wiesenthal was an Austrian architect who survived the Holocaust thanks partly to his artistic skills (he was spared from execution when he was employed to paint swastikas on train cars). After the war, he discovered that he and his wife lost over 80 members of their family. Wiesenthal dedicated the rest of his life to hunting down notorious war criminals including Adolf Eichmann (a chief orchestrator of Hitler’s “Final Solution to the Jewish Question”) and Joseph Mengele (a.k.a. “The Angel of Death” who conducted horrifying experiments on his subjects).

While Simon Says: Nazi Hunter #1 is inspired by Simon Wiesenthal, it is not merely a dramatization of his experiences alone. The story takes from many aspects of various Nazi Hunter stories following the war. The tone of the comic is a mixture of noir and pulp fiction which was prevalent in the 1950s and 60s. Other influences include Ian Fleming’s James Bond Series as well as such films as Schindler’s List, Inglorious Bastards and TV series like Sherlock and Man in the High Castle.

Simon Wiesenthal will always be a quintessential hero. It is exciting to see a graphic novel taking shape about his life and work. A Kickstarter campaign in support of SIMON SAYS: NAZI HUNTER #1 is on now through February 27th to raise funds for the first issue of what will be a full length graphic novel. Visit the campaign right here.

Sam Glanzman’s VOYAGE TO THE DEEP was originally published in 1962 by Dell Comics and has never been reprinted. Drew Ford, known for finding lost gems in comics and bringing them back to print, plans to give this masterwork a well deserved return. This will be the third collection in Ford’s IT’S ALIVE! imprint. A Kickstarter campaign in support of this book is running now through Dec 3rd. You can find it right HERE.

Eisner Award nominee Drew Ford, left his position at Dover Publications earlier this year (where he put together over 30 graphic novel collections, one of which was nominated for an Eisner Award: THE PUMA BLUES by Stephen Murphy & Michael Zulli), to launch his own imprint called IT’S ALIVE!, were he will continue his mission of bringing lost and forgotten graphic novels and uncollected comic book runs back into print!

Currently, he is trying to collect (for the first time ever) VOYAGE TO THE DEEP by Sam Glanzman, a series of four interconnected 32 page comics books that have been out of print for almost 55 years! This will be the third collection from his new imprint, and he is raising the funds to do this through Kickstarter.

VOYAGE TO THE DEEP follows the adventures of Admiral Jonathan Leigh, as he commands the mighty Proteus (a shape-shifting atomic sub) through the deepest of Earth’s oceans, battling fanged sea creatures, arctic monsters, anti-mater generators, sonic attacks, and even terrorism!

Golden Age comic book master, and WWII veteran, Sam Glanzman has been drawing comics for over 70 years. And through Ford’s recent efforts, many new collections of Glanzman’s out of print work are now back on the shelves for long time fans to enjoy, and new readers to discover for decades to come. Mark Waid called Glanzman “…a National treasure in the field of illustration.”, and The A.V. Club praised Glanzman as “…one of the great storytellers of 20th century comics.”

The VOYAGE TO THE DEEP Kickstarter page has a handful of incredible Early Bird Specials, which will only last for the first few days of the campaign. And remember that if you end up becoming a backer, you will not only be helping Sam Glanzman, but you will also be helping Ford to continue his mission of saving the history of comics, one book at a time!

Visit the VOYAGE TO THE DEEP Kickstarter campaign running now thru Dec 3rd right HERE.

Here is a special review of “Man-Shrimp Lives!” A Kickstarter campaign in support of this 74-page full color graphic novel is going on thru 9/8. You can find it right here.

This is a very silly comic on a very twisted existential jag. I have to hand it to writer/artist Wesley Dickson for stoking the fires to his absurd and surreal work. We begin with a Man-Shrimp in search of new souls to eat him in order for him to live through them. One misadventure leads to another as we make our way through the whole animal kingdom. Yes, rest assured, there is also a Man-Gorilla, a Man-Lion, a Man-Giraffe, and so on.

This comic truly makes one’s head spin but that’s Dickson’s intention. There are some nice extended moments like a detailed ode to the contents of ramen. And there is a logical plot at play here too. For me, however, I enjoy this comic most in the spirit of the work of such entertainers as Andy Kaufman and Sacha Baron Cohen where the joke or point of the story is elusive or irrelevant. What matters most is that you can’t help but stick around. This is wacky weird fun stuff.

I hear Man-Shrimp is pretty good in a nice gumbo. Give it a try. You may come back for seconds. Catch the Kickstarter campaign going on thru 9/8 right here.

Jennifer Daydreamer has been published by Top Shelf Productions and regularly contributed illustrations to the Seattle alt-weekly, The Stranger, in the late ’90s. In the course of a creative life, Daydreamer has seen her path take an interesting trajectory. I share with you now a conversation with artist and writer Jennifer Daydreamer on her new project, “Mack Stuckey’s Guide to the Center of the Universe.” A Kickstarter campaign in support of a print run to the book is going on now thru August 28th. You can find it right here. She is the author. Full disclosure, I’m the illustrator for the book, and I contributed to the story. And she’s my partner.

HENRY CHAMBERLAIN: Let’s begin, Jen. We can jump in to the very beginning of the Mack Stuckey project.

JENNIFER DAYDREAMER: You certainly did contribute to the prose. There are details in Mack, plot points, character names and so forth, that you came up with. We are both illustrators but you were the instant choice of illustrator. Although I can draw fast, I don’t normally paint in quick thick brush strokes, the kind you do, and so I was excited about a real artistic collaboration with you. Probably our first. I think after you’ve been blogging for ten years, this has been the first time you have interviewed me. So, thanks!

What was the impetus to writing Mack Stuckey?

Well, before 2008, I could score a job pretty easily. I’m a creative type but I have a detailed part of my brain that does well with accounting. I actually enjoy accounting because I find it meditative and so for most of my career I have been able to do accounting work for my jobs. I was in a series of job layoffs. One, the company went out of business, the next, the company transferred my position out of state, another one I was a new hire and when they do layoffs, the new hires usually get cut first. In a nutshell, the book is about the economy and expressing my frustration about it, in a creative way. I just don’t want to spend my time venting at this point. I have expressed my employment dilemmas to my friends over the years. At this point, I’d rather be joking.

Illustration for “Mack Stuckey” by Henry Chamberlain

Where does it take place?

It takes place in Seattle. Poor Seattle. The inspiration to write the book is my need to express myself in regards to the economy and state of housing and living in our city with a disappearing middle class. The story takes place in 2014, by the way, and so, any uptick of the economy happening today, I hope is really happening. I digress. Seattle happens to be the fall guy, the theatrical back drop of the story and so, we make fun of Seattle. Specifically, Fremont. We venture into Ballard, Downtown, and the U District.

How so?

For one thing, I create a feud between Ballard and Fremont, either real or imagined. I examine the tension that I think exists between the two locales because when you want to buy something practical in Fremont, like pens and a pad of paper there is only one or two small places to go. There are no standard drug stores allowed in Fremont (I think from building codes) so you have to take your car or the bus or your bike and dip into Ballard for practical needs.

What else is the book about?

Well, we describe the book succinctly on our Kickstarter page! Basically, I created a love triangle between a woman and two men, representing the upper, middle, and lower classes. I don’t come right out and say that in the book, because that would be too explicit, but that is one of the themes. I think there is something for everyone in the book, if you like humor, a sexy romance, or interest in the local icons. I try my hand at what I call comedic erotica.

Tell us about what you’ve been up to in the last few years.

After drawing comics, I was inspired to write a screenplay because that imprint, what was it called?

Minx.

Yes, Minx, from DC Comics, asked me for some ideas. They cancelled the imprint. One of my ideas was for a dystopian novel about the separation between a guy and a girl and killing in the army, that someday I should write. They really did not like it, too macabre, and then Hunger Games comes out later. I remember believing them at the time that the story pitch is not good, so its a reminder to believe in myself. I wrote the screenplay for the humor submission that they did like. Then Minx was cancelled. I never had a contract, just a “that’s funny, I like that one.” So, I spent about a year studying how to write a screenplay and it took me about 1.8 to finish it, because it was my first screenplay.

Where did that leave you?

With one foot halfway in the door! It left me with one manager who switched companies and his job position and so he could not represent it. Then I found an agent who read it, she is known in the industry and so I felt lucky. She was encouraging. She said I needed edits and she gave me her manager contact and said to try and do edits with him and then resubmit it to her. But her manager nixed it. By the way, I respected how he communicated with me, as he got to it, read the script promptly and let me know his opinion. Everyone I submitted it to over a year’s time or so, was very nice, frankly. I know there is crap that happens in Hollywood, but, somehow, I felt encouraged by people in the business I was in contact with. Most did not have room or time to read it and some commented that my pitch was great and so to keep at it. So, I got my foot in the Hollywood door about an eigth of the way. A toe.

Interesting visual, one toe clinging to a door. But, seriously, it put you in an interesting situation. You were in the thick of transitioning from comics, moving beyond comics.

It was fun to try. I felt a cartoonist could get a foot in the door because comic book movies were taking off. I had an agent/lawyer to make some pathway, also, when I submitted, so I was not completely unprofessional and just cold called everyone. I think the writing contributed to writing Mack – the more you create the better you get. Mack has taken 2.5 years to write and I still have some details I want to round it out with. Its basically done. Besides those projects, I have spent a lot of time writing and sketching out a four book Young Adult Fantasy Series which I am eager to launch on social media. For this YA series, I really think a book agent, editor or editors and publishing company is necessary. You need help to keep detail accurate when you are world building.

After Mack, I have one very odd book, I have to get off my chest, then I will launch my YA series. I have spent a year on it. Its not complicated like writing a story but I am scared of publishing it, and so, I have to publish it. I’m scared as I have to dip into some religious and societal explanations. I had an out of body experience or an altered state from drawing my mini comics long ago and it was not until recently when I studied Jung in detail and some Jungian psychologists that I realized there is a biological explanation or a science explanation for it.

Lots of room to dig deeper.

Usually the explanation in our society, is something spiritual or “occult” and so I am eager to lay out my idea to disprove the occult notions, that there may be a more reasonable or logic based explanation. I have not completely ruled out a spiritual component. I think there is a spiritual component, I understand the shamanic explanation for something like that, but I think there is a middle ground, because the explanations from psychologists are so clear and sound. There’s compelling commentary by Oliver Sacks on YouTube (13.45). Maybe you can link the video for our cartoonist friends because it’s interesting if you draw comics.

Yes, consider it done. It will run right below these comments.

Great!

What Oliver Sacks has to say I am relating to my experience in the book. I think the brain is activated because of the archetypal nature of comics. What archetypal nature is, should be explained more but there is not room in this intervew to go into that kind of detail.

“There is another part of the brain which is especially activated when one sees cartoons. It’s activated when one recognizes cartoons when one draws cartoons and when one hallucinates them. It’s very interesting that that should be (so) specific.”

–Oliver Sacks

Are you still drawing comics? Where would you say you are today in relation to comics?

I love comics. I am following my heart and my heart wants my YA series to be prose – just words – and my illustrations. And so, no, its not comics. I would like to draw comics and be in anthologies, but there is no time at the moment. I am really focused on the projects listed above. I have the door open on comics, the door is not closed. Same with, you know, doing another humor book like Mack. When I was in high school I was the kid that made fun of all the teachers and drew riffs on them and passed them to my friends in class. I have a humor side and I have the side that loves to create long fantasy.

Anything else you’d like to add?

One last word. We make fun of some drug usage in Mack but I don’t do drugs. I am a very very square cat when it comes to things like that. It’s important for me to be clear on this because I don’t like my out of body experiences nor my illustrations to be accused of being “drug influenced.” Because I think fantasy story and art is related to healing and I want to contribute to that. I want to explore more in the future on the connection to drawing comics and naturally based hallucinations.

Thanks, Jennifer!

Thank you, Henry!

Be sure to visit Mack Stuckey right here. To go directly to the Kickstarter campaign on thru 8/28, go right here.

I bring to your attention a funny and thoughtful comic with a cannabis theme that I’m excited about. You can support the Kickstarter campaign running thru August 31st right here. The project’s creator, Jeremy Myers, has found a sweet spot for comics and cannabis fans alike with this mashup of humor, horror, and political commentary. Cannabis and comics do indeed mix, going at least as far back as the Sixties underground. Here is a new generation’s turn.

IT’S ALIVE! is an imprint that specializes in bringing great comics, many out of print for decades, to new readers. IT’S ALIVE! has partnered with IDW Publishing to make these wonderful books available to you. However, the imprint’s founder and editor, Drew Ford, is still responsible to come up with the funds to publish each book. Right now, a Kickstarter campaign is going on in support of the first ever collection of a comic book adaptation by Trina Robbins of Sax Rohmer’s 1919 novel, DOPE. The Kickstarter campaign runs thru August 19th and you can support it right here.

If this Kickstarter campaign is successful, IT’S ALIVE! will publish the first ever collection of Trina Robbin’s comic book adaptation of Sax Rohmer’s sensational 1919 novel, DOPE. The story centers around a talented young actress, who becomes fatally ensnared in London’s mysterious and glittery drug culture of the early 20th century. DOPE was both the first novel to speak openly about the world’s international drug trade, and the first story to center around the death of a celebrity by drug overdose. Robbin’s comic book adaptation was first published in 1981, serialized within the pages of ECLIPSE MAGAZINE (and later, ECLIPSE MONTHLY). The story started out in a black and white magazine, and finished up in color comic book. Since its initial publication, it has never been collected in any form.

Trina Robbins is one of the best cartoonists in a long history of great comics art. DOPE exemplifies her distinctive vision. The campaign ends soon, August 19th. Jump on board here.

A Kickstarter campaign has been launched (ends 8/28) for the illustrated novel, “Mack Stuckey’s Guide to the Center of the Universe,” a dark satire set in Seattle. This isn’t your “Sleepless in Seattle” or “Singles.” Join the campaign right here.